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Saturday, July 12, 2008

It is very important to know first hand knowledge about the place where you plan to go because it will spare you from troubles, money and time. If you are an informed traveler you will know what to do and be able to make the most out your time, effort and money. What then are the basic facts you should inquire about? First thing is to know what do you want to achieve in your travel. Objectives maybe for learning the culture of the country, adventure or mere sight seeing, it will all be up to you. Once you've identified the kind of things that you want to get in your travel, you will now be able to choose the particular spots that you want to visit. In choosing your spots, you have to consider the distance from one spot to another and the amount of time and money that you have. Identify first the time that you're going to spend and your budget for it. Based on your available time, choose the spots that are relevant to your purpose and know the facts on getting there and the time it will consume.

Another factor is the type of transportation available to get there. This could be by air, by water, by train, by bus, by taxi, by car or maybe can be done walking. The cheapest way is by walking and riding a bus and train. If the spots you have chosen can be reached by land, it is better to use this kind of transportation to save money but needs enough time. In using public vehicles you have to plan your itinerary by their schedule and make the best arrangement out of this because this is beyond our control. Sequence should be arranged based on the easiest way of transfer from one spot to another considering the availability of the place and the means of transportation. Most spots have designated time and day that it will be opened and some may have entrance fees. So it's better to research first the spots that you want to visit and there's a lot of information available in the internet. Once you have identified the spots, the time it will be available, the means of transportation, you will now be able to estimate the cost of your travel.

One effective way to make an itinerary is to make columns for the date and time, the activity, cost of the activity, food and accommodation, type of transportation and its cost. In this way, you will be able to know the amount of money that you're going to need or if the travel do not exceed your budget and if it does, you have to review it again and see what can be done to reduce costs and look for alternatives to make it cheaper. This may be through traveling at night while you sleep to save time so you can go to an extra spot and to save money on accommodation. On air travel, one way to save is to book your flight months earlier in a cheap airline. Most of these airlines have promos on early booking. Another is having a family or friend in your place of destination because they may accommodate you or drive you around if they have a car.

Once you have laid the particulars of your own travel, you can now consider what other things you need to know about the place you're going to and these are, the law, customs and traditions, moral beliefs and behaviors so you won't violate any of these and enjoy a lot of freedom in your travel. Most importantly is to get visa information and traveling requirements to enter the country of your choice for your nationality as there are citizens who enjoy ease in obtaining visas and there are nationalities that are strictly regulated.

These are just suggestions to be able to travel without much pain in your pocket but of course you can choose to make your travel as comfortable as you can by spending more money.